Solving Tom's Riddles
by F.L. Pacifico
Summary: This story is not about good or evil. It's more about Tom as a human being, not as the evil antagonist. I was planning on making the story a bit long, but that all depends on the reviews.


"My mind is empty and my heart is empty. Tell me which is worse, to have a head full of nothing or to have a heart which pumps blood but cannot sustain life. I no longer know the difference. I cannot feel. The life I once had is slowly draining away.Like the river's water, it flows to the sea never to return. It flows until none is left. My life is empty, but you remain. You stay for reasons that my mind cannot understand. When you are near, the world stands still, so still that nothing, not even time would dare to move. In that moment, I am real. I am alive.". --Tom Riddle  
  
Solving Tom's Riddles  
  
Introduction  
  
The House of Riddles  
  
We pass judgements all too soon, and these closed-minded ideas that we create in our heads, are usually what our hearts would follow. That is part of human nature. We hear only what we want to hear, we believe things that we choose to believe, and with that, we completely disregard the truth. This story is not about good and evil. This story is about being human.  
  
IT all began in a town called Little Hangleton. Little Hangleton is a quiet place, or so it seemed. It had a good number of inhabitants and they weren't at all quiet especially when someone comes up with juicy gossip. The people in this town itch for gossip, and since the town is so plain and uninteresting, it became a sort of hobby for them. If someone comes up with a really nice, descriptive story about their neighbour, it becomes a sensation, and the story will spread like fire in the wilderness. It consumes everyone.

Apparently, someone came up with an excellent semi-true story about the Riddles.

One of the well known families in the town,the Riddle family, was just as boring and as normal as everything else around them.The Riddle house was known for its beautiful gardens and for the nasty people who lived in it. The Riddles were rude, snobby, and rich. The young boy, son of Riddle senior, who lived there recently got married to a not-so-common woman and had a son with her, whom he named Tom after his own name Thomas. Tom was born into this world filled with love and happiness. He was the joy of his mother's eyes. She loved him very much. The love of his mother was like a substitute for the love he did not get from his father.

One stormy evening while the entire town slept, Tom's parents got into a heated arguement. One thing led to another, and at the end of that cold night, Tom and his mother were forced out of the house. His mother wept in the rain. She begged Tom's father to take her back, and his only reply was silence. She had no choice but to leave. She walked around town seeking shelter from her neighbors, and not one of them would give her any. This was the night that Tom's mother cursed the world. Tom had no idea why she would do such a thing, he didn't understand because he was too young to do so. His mother wept as the rain poured. She wept until the rain had stopped, until there were no more tears to cry. When her eyes had forbidden her to drop even one more tear, she started to feel numb. She felt nothing. The world, to her, was nothing but a mere speck of dust. Then, she started to feel pain. No, not pain from sorrow, but it was an intolerable pain from anger. She had to do something.  
  
She removed a long wooden stick from her cloak, she stood near the edge of the street, and waved it. In that instant, a double-decked coach appeared out of nowhere, it had the words "Knight Coach" painted on its door. In front of the coach were ten humongous black horses, and right behind them was a little old man who was signaling the horses to a halt.  
  
"Good evening! And welcome to the Knight Coach. Get in, get in! The rain is pouring and it stops for no one. 'Tis only fools who fancy walking in the rain. Tell me your destination m'am and I will get you there as quick as I can" said the old man cheerfully.  
  
Tom's mom replied with a not so cheerful note, "Take me to Diagon Alley as quick as you can, and I will make sure that you will not be harmed when the time comes".  
  
The old man looked puzzled as Tom and his mother entered the coach. The old man kept his word, they were in London in the flick of a finger, and soon they were in front of the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
They entered the Leaky Cauldron and was greeted by a tall old man, even older looking than the one in the Knight Coach.  
  
"Oh what a wonderful night it is! How may I help you?", the man inquired.  
  
"I'm on my way to Diagon Alley", Tom's mother replied dryly.  
  
"But m'am, Not one store is open at this time of day, what is it that you seek in Diagon Alley?" the man asked with a perplexed look on his face.  
  
Tom's mother was flushed with unexplainable anger because of the interogation and she said, "How dare you ask me such foolish questions? I am on my way to Diagon Alley, and that is all that you need to know".  
  
The old man walked away extremely confused. He did not know if he was angry or if he was afraid because of this conversation with Tom's mother.

People in the Leaky Cauldron were looking at Tom and his mother in a strange manner. Tom's mother grabbed his arm and began walking towards the back door of the pub. She opened it and they were faced with a brick wall which she tapped with her wooden stick, after she tapped it, it became a sort of arch in which they could pass through to get to the Alley.  
  
The alley was dark but even in the darkness, one can see the outlines of what might be stores. There were all kinds of stores. There were broom stores, cauldron stores, robe stores, and wand stores. Now, all these seemed really odd to Tom. Tom's mother sensed this and looked at him lovingly and said,"Don't be afraid. I am doing all these things to give you a brighter future. You will understand one day. This is Diagon Alley, we are not staying here. We are going to Draydens Alley. We have relatives there. Maybe we can ask for their help, but I wouldn't count on it." They continued walking up the alley until they reached an even darker alley. It was Knockturn Alley. Tom was scared, who wouldn't be? He grabbed his mother's hand and stayed closer to her. "There's nothing to be afraid of,Tom. It's just an alley," she said, trying to comfort him the best way she can. "Lumos"she whispered. Then, the stick she was holding lit up. Finally, they reached Draydens Alley.  
  
It was a well-lit place. There were structures that looked like houses but were in actually tall buildings. Each white building had a pointed roof which had all sorts of magnificent designs carved into it. The pavement didn't look like that of Diagon alley or that of Knockturn alley. The pavement in Draydens alley had diamonds stuck to it. Draydens Alley was a beautiful place. It was a place where prominent wizarding families lived. Surely, Tom's mother was one of them. His mother stopped in front of one of the white buildings. She walked towards the door. The door had very detailed carvings and must have been 15-feet tall and 8-feet wide, just like the door its knob was not a normal knob, its knob was an emerald green serpent with amber eyes,and the name Marvolo was embossed in silver letters across the door. She knocked at the door. After a second, the door began to open slowly. A weird creature opened the door. The creature had droopy ears and big watery green eyes. The moment the creature saw her, it jumped and exclaimed,"The little miss is here! She's back! She's back! and has brought with her a little master! Come in! Come in! Crup is very happy to see that you are safe".  
  
Tom was amazed with the creature and he was all the more amazed with what he saw as he entered the house. The house had a very high ceiling, everything inside the house was white, green, and silver. In the center of the house, was a spiral staircase.The spiral staircase was made of jade, the stairs spun in a spiral motion from the ground floor until the highest floor,and it would stop depending on which floor one wishes to go to. The place was well lit. A beautiful chandelier hung from the ceiling. The chandelier was made of silver, its design looked like a thousand silver serpents intertwined with one another. It emitted a different kind of light, it emitted a glittery white light.  
  
"Tom, do not look upon such beautiful things for they may blind you. There is evil behind this beauty, if you look closer, you will see that the light you are seeing is made by a thousand fairies trapped within that chandelier and th--", his mother's words were interrupted by another voice.  
  
"Eleanor, do not frighten your child. Those fairies chose to dwell in that chandelier", a woman with a deep voice said ever so calmly, as she walked down the staircase.  
  
"Mother, you haven't changed." Eleanor said filled with sarcasm to the woman with the deep voice.  
  
The woman who was walking down the stairs was certainly a woman of an older age. She had long beautiful white hair, and though this might clearly give away her age, her face had a different story. Her face was not old. Her face was as young as Eleanor's face. How can a woman like that be her mother? Surely, there was something weird and almost wicked about this lady.  
  
The lady spoke as she approached Eleanor and Tom, "My lovely daughter, is that the way to greet your dying mother?" she said.  
  
"You're dying?" Eleanor inquired with what might have seemed like a sympathetic tone.  
  
"Yes, I am actually dying. Oh sweet death, it calls to me." Eleanor's mother replied as if death was as welcome as a cooling breeze on a warm summer's day. Eleanor was surprised. She did not know what to do or what to say, it was as if her cold heart suddenly melted as she said, "I'm sorry. I've been gone for so long and I nev--never knew that you were ill." Her mother touched her hand and said, "Oh of course you wouldn't know. You haven't been here in years. But I've been watching you closely and I knew that you would be back sooner than you would have wanted. I knew it even before you left."  
  
She looked at Tom and asked, "Is he yours?".  
  
"Yes, he's mine. He's a great child, he's really smart and I doubt he inherited much from his muggle father." Eleanor replied to her mother with a faint smile on her face. "You sound as if you're selling your son to me. I know you too well Eleanor. I can see right through you. What's wrong?" her mother asked.  
  
"Mother, why do ask questions you very well know the answers to?", Eleanor replied.  
  
"Why do answer questions with another question?, her mom asked  
  
"That's not the point. You knew what was going to happen and you did nothing to stop it!" Eleanor said hatefully  
  
"My dear, I did try to stop you, but you never listened. I know what will happen to you and I also know the future of your son. Now listen carefully, and remember that the destiny of your son is not in my hands but in his."  
  
Suddenly, a bright, white light filled the room. A light so bright and blinding that Eleanor had to shield Tom's eyes from it. Everything was quiet. Everything was still, it was calm... and almost peaceful.  
  
I hope you enjoyed reading. There are more chapters coming. Please review. Thanks! :)


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